Viva Knievel!
Viva Knievel! is a 1977 action film starring Evel Knievel (as himself), Gene Kelly, and Lauren Hutton. RiffTrax released their riff in April 2013. Synopsis and Preview ' Begin' Daredevil motorcycle rider Evel Knievel stars as himself in this fictional story. The film opens with Knievel sneaking into an orphanage late at night to deliver presents: Evel Knievel action figures. One of the boys casts away his crutches, telling Knievel that if he could walk after his crashes, then he (the boy) can, too. Knievel then prepares for another of his stunt jumps. We are introduced to his alcoholic mechanic Will Atkins (Gene Kelly), who was a former stunt rider himself before his wife died, driving him to drink. While signing autographs, Knievel is ambushed by feminist photojournalist Kate Morgan (Lauren Hutton), who has been sent to photograph the jump: if Knievel is killed, it will be a great story. As it happens, Evel does crash while attempting the stunt, and though badly injured, survives. He berates Morgan, announces his retirement, and is taken to the hospital. While rehabilitating, Knievel resists all attempts to get back on the horse, including those from Jessie (Marjoe Gortner), a former protégé with mysterious backers who want Evel to do a jump in Mexico. Eventually, though, Knievel relents and agrees. A subplot develops when Will's estranged son Tommy shows up from boarding school, and asks to join the tour. Will, who is reminded of his dead wife, is cold to Tommy, leaving Knievel to show the boy kindness. Likewise, Kate reappears, apologetic for her previous motives, and now wishes that he will never stop jumping. Meanwhile, Jessie's benefactor is revealed: Drug lord Stanley Millard (Leslie Nielsen). Millard (without Jessie's knowledge) plans to cause a fatal accident during the jump. He will then have Knievel's body transported back to America in an exact duplicate of the tour trailer, but one that has a massive supply of drugs hidden in the walls. Will, however, stumbles onto the plot, is drugged, and sent to a psychiatric ward under the control of the corrupt Ralph Thompson (Dabney Coleman) to prevent him from spilling the beans. Evel sneaks into the ward late at night when Will has dried out, but all Will can remember is that someone knocked him out. Knievel leaves him there to keep whoever is behind the plot in the dark. As Knievel prepares for the jump (down a massive ramp and over a fire pit), Jessie—hopped up on drugs—confronts Evel, claiming that he will prove who the best jumper is. Jessie knocks Evel out and dresses in Knievel's signature red, white, and blue outfit. Jessie then successfully makes the jump, however, the bike has been sabotaged and he is killed as he lands (footage from a real Knievel crash was used). While the body is taken away for the drug smuggling plot, Evel wakes up, gets on another bike, and goes to free Will. After breaking out of the psych ward, the two find the mockup trailer, in which, by an amazing coincidence, both Tommy and Kate have been taken hostage. Pursuing the truck, Will and Evel decide to split up: Will will disable the semi, Evel will lead off the gun-toting drug lords riding guard in another car. At the end of several extended chase scenes, the drug lords are defeated, Will and his son are reunited, and Kate has fallen head over heels for Knievel. The film ends with Knievel performing a daredevil jump over a pit of fire, this time successfully. The end jump is stopped in a freeze-frame shot and a color matte, similar to that of the one that appears in the opening credits, appears over Evel in mid-air. The song that plays over the opening credits also plays over the film's end credits. End Cast and Crew *Evel Knievel as Himself *Gene Kelly as Will Atkins *Lauren Hutton as Kate Morgan *Red Buttons as Ben Andrews *Leslie Nielsen as Stanley Millard *Marjoe Gortner as Jessie *Cameron Mitchell as Barton *Frank Gifford as Himself *Eric Olson as Tommy Atkins *Albert Salmi as Cortland *Dabney Coleman as Ralph Thompson *Sheila Allen as Sister Charity Quotes Notes See Also *Cool as Ice *McBain *The Apple *Kingdom of the Spiders External Links *Viva Knievel! on RiffTrax Category:Viva Knievel! Category:RiffTrax Category:Official RiffTrax Category:RiffTrax in 2013